It was after a Willie Nelson that I realized I should listen to more of this mans music. I knew a few of his songs, but I was not a fan of the ones I heard on the radio. I knew there was much more to his legacy then just the hits. It was the point of searching his music that I should be looking for albums. It was at the concert I also knew that if I seek out the albums the real songs are the gems of his long and very extensive body of work.
Wondering where to begin I did my local library collection. We did not have much of his music but maybe it was the reason I continued looking. The album that took me to his music more was an album of guest musicians and friends. He had plenty of friends on an album called Across the Borderline. It had everyone who I liked and admired on it. People like Paul Simon, Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan, and countless others. These musicians were paying tribute to the great willie Nelson.
This album was in a friends collection and he let me "borrow" it until I could find more Willie Nelson albums to listen to. I said "borrow" because I still have it to this day and was the launching point for all things Willie. Looking in all the record stores was tough because I did not want to grab just one album or the wrong one. I'm sure he had some clunkers in his collection. It was not until I found one in the cheap cassette bin that changed my mind. I found a Willie Nelson album called
Phases and Stages. For $2.99 I could not go wrong. It was also on Atlantic Records which to me at the time always had good music in their catalog.
After a first listen I was in awe of the music and the songs. At the time of first listening I was really big into 60's Soul and R&B that Atlantic Records was king with people like Wilson Pickett, Roberta Flack, Ray Charles and countless others. These musicians can't be wrong and the music was some of the most creative. I was excited to listen to this, but I did not expect to hear such great musicianship from Willie Nelson's backup musicians. They were on fire for sure. The mix of Country music, old R&B and the unique sounds of the Muscle Shoals musicians made this more like a Country Rock feel then a whole Country album. Nelson's voice was stronger then ever.
This album gelled together so well that I played the cassette again and repeated the listening experience with more and more joy every time I listened to it. The only issue I had was the fact that like most Country albums it was short. I felt after little more then a half an hour long I should have more great music to digest. I still loved the music that I heard.
Many repeated listenings followed and in 2006 my wish was granted. Rhino and Atlantic made a box set of not only this album Phases and Stages, but also his previous album and by no means less stellar Shotgun Willie. An added attraction to this box set was a live show from the era. Making use of two great album the live show brings it all together for those fans from circa 1973-74. I kinda wish I was in the crowd for that one.
So after my first post in a while I might be doing this more often. I enjoy writing about music and this album is no different then what I have posted before. It is a great album and one that shows how truly Willie Nelson is. It's got killer grooves and hooks and sounds nothing like most of his others. Willie does not pigeon hole himself to just one style or genre. If you every notice when he does a solo on "Trigger" he makes it sound unique every time. Some times it sound like Rock and other times Jazz. One last thing when doing research for this album many articles agree with this album being in his top ten or at least five. If anything this album made me study Willie and his music and enjoy. This album is a must listen to even beginner Willie fans. Check it out and play it loud.
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